Clayton Sustala was born in Fort Worth, Texas and moved to Aledo, Texasat the age of 3. After graduating from Aledo High School, he moved toLubbock, Texas to attend Texas Tech University, where he majored in FamilyFinancial Planning. After graduating from university, he moved back to FortWorth where he took a job selling tanning and workout memberships. Within sixmonths, Clayton had the top sales and set all sales records at the company. Dueto his success, he was promoted to area manager and broke all branch salesrecords. Afterwards, Clay Sustala moved on torecruiting, accounting, and finance at Accounts on Call. In 2008-2009, thecountry suffered a financial crisis and he waslaid off because no company was paying recruiters. Due to the financial crisis,Sustala felt pressureto change careers and he decided to move to the medical field. With his wifealready in the medical field, Clayton Sustala was able to navigate thedifferent types of jobs and helped find the right fit for him.

1. Tell me a little bit about what you do atMajors Medical Service.

At Majors Medical Service, I market our in-home products so that patients can have a better quality of lifein managing their ailments. Majors Medical Serviceoffers an extremely wide array of products, from rollators to masks and fromorthopedics to sleep aids. With the variety of DME products that we have instock, I can market effectively to hospitals and doctors offices within theDallas-Fort Worth region.

2. What do you love most about the industry youare in?

I love meeting new people and getting to make patients lives a littleeasier.Knowingthat everything that I am marketing to hospitals anddoctors is directly improving the quality of life of people that are strugglinghelps me to work my hardest every single day. Having seen the impact that ourDME products can have on both an individual and a family is something thatmotivates me to continue my efforts and is one of the greatest rewards that cancome in the marketing industry.

3. What does a typical day consist of for you?

My day is fun albeit extremely busy. I spend all day, every day, drivingto doctors offices and hospitals within the Dallas-Fort Worth region. At eachlocation, I spend time marketing our products as well as helping nurses, socialworkers, and patients get settled into using the products and teaching them howto use other products for when I am not there to help them.

4. What keeps you motivated?

My family keeps me motivated. I work hard every day for them.However, my drive to be the very best and helping my clients is my motivationat work.Being able to see the results that our products can provide topatients and givingthem the support they need to improve their qualityof living is one of the greatest rewards, andis one of the reasons why the medical field is amazing to work in.

5.Who was a personal role model to you and why?

I have had many role models, but my uncle is who stands out the most. He has a no-nonsenseapproach to life, and it has led him to be very successful in both business andfishing. I have always wanted to be just likehimand modeling my business attitude after his has been one of the bestdecisions that I have made. It has helped me to succeed in every job I have hadas one of the top sales representatives for each company.

6. What trends in your industry excite you?

My industry has been very frustrating with Medicare reimbursementsdropping year after year, meaning thatmany hospitals and doctors offices have not been able to afford to givethe service parishes deserve, or pay their employees fairly. But Im excited to hear this might be turning around soonand Medicare reimbursements should start to rise.

7. How do you maintain a solid work lifebalance?

Maintaining a work and home life is very hard in this industry asmy job requires long hours and a lot of driving around the Dallas-Fort Wortharea. I struggle with maintaining a balance every day. I am very fortunate thatmy family helps me and understands the difficulties of the job and helps tomake my personal time as enjoyable as possible.

8. What are some of your favorite places to fish?Whats your proudest catch?

Port Aransas, Texas as well as Port OConnor, Texas are places myfamily and I have gone fishing often. I try to go there at least 4-5 times a year for fishing. But Cabo San Lucas, Mexico is myfavorite location that I have had the opportunity to fish. Its on thePacific and thats where I caught my 10-ft Blue Marlin.

9. What has been the hardest obstacle youveovercome professionally?

The hardest obstacle to overcome has been Medicare reimbursements dropping and forcing commissions todrop.My life has changed a lot because of something that is out of mycontrol. All that I can do is work hard every day to ensure that Immaking the most of the opportunities we get. I havefaced a lot of obstacles in my career with the financial crisis and Medicare adjustmentsbut I believe that it has helped to make me better at my job.

10. The variety of game in Texas makes for ahunters paradise. Tell me about Clay Sustalas favorite game to hunt.

I hunt everything I can in Texas. Dove, ducks, whitetail deer,mule deer and wild hogs are among the most common game that I hunt when I getout. However, my favorite hunt every year is our annual pheasant hunt in the Texas panhandlethat I go on with my family.It is something that we look forward to participating in every year.

11. What is one piece of advice that you havenever forgotten?

The best piece of advice that I have ever received and has helped methroughout my career is if you act like you are supposed to be there, no onewill assume otherwise. This has helped me whenever I have transitioned to anew career as even if I am nervous, as long as I am able to look calm andcollected, my nerves are never displayed.

Follow me here: https://www.claytonsustala.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/claysustala/ and https://twitter.com/@claytonsustala

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Interview Series: A Discussion with Clay Sustala on Staying Motivated in Work and Life - Thrive Global